Coil handling apparatus



P 1951 E. A. MATTESON ELI AL 2,567,819

COIL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 17, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOIEEL Wl/V A. NA TTESON J WILL/AM FDO/VALD E. A. MATTESON ETAL 2,67,19

COIL HANDLING APPARATUS Sept. 11, 1951 Filed Aug; 17, 1946 5Shests-Sheet 2 mmvrons ,2/ fl W/N A- NATTESON BY ,2 W/L 1 mm PDONA wATTOENE'YS Sept. 11, 1951 E. A. MATTESON ET AL 2,567,819

COIL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 17, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TORSE2 W/N AJVA TTESON BY J W/LL/AM PDONALD A TTOE'IVEYS s p 1951 E. A.MATTESON ETAL COIL HANDLING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 17,1946 lllllll v iv INVENTORS EL W/N A MA TTFSON & W/ZZ/AM PDQ/VAL] ATTOP/VEYS E. A. MATTESON ET AL 2,567,819

Sept. El, 1951 COIL HANDLING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 17,1946 IN V EN TORS El Wl/V A- NA TTESOA/ Y W/lL/AM PDQ/VALE truck or thelike.

Patented Sept. 11, 1951 COIL HANDLING APPARATUS Elwin A. Matteson andWilliam P. Donald,

Youngstown, Ohio, assignors to The Aetna- Standard Engineering Company,Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application August 17, 1946,Serial No. 691,344

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to apparatus for handling coils of stripmaterial, and more particularly to an improved coil transfer andup-ending mechanism which is adapted to move a coil of strip materialbetween a reel having a horizontal axis and a point away from the reel,and shift the axis of the coil through approximately 90 during or aftersuch movement.

In the manufacture of strip steel the strip is coiled upon a tensionreel as it comes from the rolling mill. In present day mill practicethese coils may be very large and heavy, in some cases a single coilweighing as much as 50,000 pounds, and the coils must be handled withconsiderable care to prevent damage to the strip. As the reel is usuallysupported at one end only with its axis horizontal the coil must beremoved from the unsupported end of reel with the coil axis also inhorizontal position. In further handling and processing of the coiledstrip, such as stacking the coils in a furnace for annealing, it isdesirable that the coil be disposed with its axis vertical and thus itbecomes necessary to up-end the coil after it has been removed from thereel.

It also becomes necessary at various stages in the manufacture of stripsteel to unwind the coils of strip. This is done by placing the coil ona pay-01f reel which acts as a center spindle during the uncoilingoperation. As the reels are preferably handled in the vertical axisposition during the intermediate operations they must be turned through90 to permit them to be placed on a pay-off reel having a horizontalaxis, and it will be understood that our improved coil handlingapparatus may readily be adapted for use either with tension reels orpay-offreels, and further, that although particular reference is madeherein to handling strip steel, our improved mechanism mayadvantageouslybe employed for handling coils of other material such as paper, roofingmaterial, or the like.

It is among the objects of ourinvention to provide an improved coilcarriage for handling coils of strip material which is adapted to handlecoils of various diameters and to transfer the coils between a reelhaving horizontal axis and a point removed from the reel and while beingso transferred, or after the transfer movement is completed, to shiftthe coil into vertical axis position for further handling by a suitablelift Other objects of our invention include the provision of anup-ending coil carriage which will accommodate coils of differentdiameters and widths without change or use of supplementary parts; theprovision of an upending coil carriage which is rapid and positive inits action and which prevents damage to the coil during handling; andthe provision of a simple, efilcient, and rugged up-ending coil carriageof the type described which may be actuated by fluid pressure means andrequires a minimum of upkeep and maintenance.

The above and other objects of our invention will appear from thefollowing description of a preferred form thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings in which our coil handling apparatus isillustrated in connection with a tension reel of the type used in theproduction of strip steel or the like and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tension reel installationincorporating our improved upending coil carriage.

Figure 2 is an enlarged end elevation of the coil carriage mechanismshown in Figure 1, taken on line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view generally similar to Figure 1 but on an enlargedscale and showing the carriage in position away from the reel andillustrating the coil cradle and coil in up-ended position, the coilbeing ready to be removed by a lift truck or the like.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation, partly in section,showing the details of our coil carriage operating mechanism.

Figure 5 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure4.

As noted above, in the manufacture of steel strip or the like the stripis customarily wound on a tension reel. In Figure 1 of the drawings thisreel is indicated at I and may be of any suitable design. This type ofreel is usually equipped with means for gripping the inner end of thestrip and is also collapsible so that, after the complete coil isformed, the reel I may be collapsed to a reduced diameter so that thecoil may readily be removed from the free or unsupported end of thereel. A coil 2 is indicated in broken lines in Figure 1 and the driveshaft of the reel 1 is supported in a housing 3. The drive motor 4 isconnected through suitable gearing to rotate the reel I. A stripper orcoil centering plate 5 of well known type may be mounted on a rod or bar6 and suitable means provided for moving the bar 6 and plate 5 from theretracted position shown in Figure 1 toward the free end of the reel Ito center the coil on the reel or push the coil to the right to assistin removing it from the reel.

The mill floor level adjacent the reel is indicated at 1 and, as may beseen in Figure 2, a pit 8 is disposed below the floor level toaccommodate atomic a portion of the mechanism of our up-ending coilcarriage apparatus. The I-beams 9 and II are supported in the pit 8 andmay form a part of the foundation for the frame ll of the tension reel.The inner bottom flanges or beams 9 and I form'trackwaysextending-parallel to the axis of the reel l and on which thecoilcarriage C is supported by suitable wheels l2 and I3.

.AsisbestseeninFigures 4and5,thecarriage C includes a drop centerportion M and upwardly extending end portions |5 and I5 at the outerends of which are mounted the supporting wheels l2 and IS. A bracketprojects upwardly from the end I5 of the carriage C and supports acoupling member |8 through which the piston rod I9 is attached to thecarriage C.

This piston rod l9 carries a piston at its opposite end which is adaptedto reciprocate in the cylinder 20 under the influence of a suitablycontrolled fluid'under pressure. From the above description it will beseen that the carriage C, and the parts mounted thereon, may be moved bymeans of the cylinder 29 and its associated parts from coil receivingposition as seen in Figure 1 to coil discharging position as seen inFigure 3.

The drop center portion H of the carriage C supports a vertical elevatorcylinder 2| in which a plunger 22 operates and is adapted to be movedupwardly by hydraulic pressure applied through the pipe 23 and tomovedownwardly when fluid is permitted to escape through the pipe 23.Carried on the upper end of the plunger 22 is an elevator mechanismgenerally indicated at E. This elevator mechanism includes a frame 24which is generally of an inverted U-shape in transverse cross-section(see Figure 5) and is provided with a downwardly extending collar 25into which the upper end of plunger 22 extends. A guide rod 26 is alsosecured in a collar 21 on the under side of the top of elevator frame 24and extends down through, and has a sliding fit in, holes 28 and 29 inthe drop center portion M of carriage C.

On opposite sides of the plunger 22 are elevator lift limit rods 39 and3| which have threaded attachment at their upper ends to the elevatorframe 24 and pass through suitable guide holes in the top and bottom ofthe box section drop center portion H of the carriage C. Washers 32 and33 are secured at the lower ends of rods 30 and 3| by suitable nuts 34and 35 and, by engaging the downwardly extending boss l4 on the centersection It, limit the permissible upward movement of the elevator E.Downward movement 4 rollers 4| and 42 form a V-shaped coil engaging andsupporting trough which will receive coils of v r ing diameters andprevent their rolling off from the cradle A while permitting them tomove endwise or axially into engagement with the inner surface of arm 49of the cradle.

As noted above, the usual elevating lift truck having a fork member forengaging a load is preferably employed in connection with our upendingapparatus and transverse slots 43 are formed in the arm 48 to permit thelift truck fork, or other coil handling fixture, to be inserted beneaththe coil 2 to remove it from the position on the cradle arm 49 shown inFigure 3 for transfer to storage or the next operation. It will be notedthat when in up-ended position the coil is held just sufficiently abovethe mill floor level to permit convenient handling by a lift truck. Inorder accurately to locate the arm 40 in horizontal position a stop 44is formed on the top of the elevator frame 24 and engages acorresponding boss 45 on the arm 40. In like manner stop 44' on theframe 24 and boss 45' on the arm 39 cooperate to limit the movement ofcradle 'A into coil receiving position. Secured to the overhanging endof shaft 38 adjacent the bearing bracket 35 is a gear segment 46. Thisgear segment is engaged by a rack 41 mounted on a C-shaped sliding framemember 48. Guideways 49 and 59 are formed in the sides of the elevatorframe 24 and provide a sliding support for the frame 48 whereby theframe and rack 41 may have longitudinal sliding movement relative to theelevator frame 24. Disposed generally within thee-shaped rack frame 48is a fluid pressure cylinder 5| having a suitable piston therein whichis secured to a piston rod 52 the outer end of which is connected at 53to the sliding rack frame 48. The cylinder 5| is secured to andsupported by the frame 24 and thus, as the piston rod 52 is moved by theapplication of fluid under pressure to the cylinder 5|, the frame 48 andrack 41 are reciprocated relative to the elevator frame 24.

when the parts are in the positions shown in Figure 1 the piston rod 52is retracted and the rack 41 is in its farthest right position. The coilcradle A is then disposed to receive a coil from the reel, the arm 39being horizontal and the arm 49 being in vertical position. When thepiston rod 52 is extended the rack 41 is moved to the .eft into theposition shown in Figure 3 with corof the elevator E is limited byengagement of Y the surface 24' with the stop lug I4" on the carriage'C(see Figure 4). The guide rod 26 serves to prevent rotary movement ofthe elevator frame 24 around the center line of the plunger 22 and alsoguides and steadies the elevator in its vertical travel.

A pair of bearing brackets 36 and 31 extend upwardly from the elevatorframe 24 and are provided with bearings in which a cross shaft 38 isrotatably supported. Secured to the cross shaft 38 between the bearingbrackets 38 and 31 is the coil carrying cradle A which includes arms 39and 40 disposed at 90 to each other. The arm 39 is the coil receivingarm and, as is seen in Figure 1, it is disposed below and supports thecoil as it is being removed from the reel I. In order to facilitatehandling of coils and to insure that a coil may freely move intoposition against the arm 40, the arm 39 is provided on its inner surfacewith two rows of angularly inclined rollers, 4| and".AsisbestseeninFigurezthese.

responding rotation of the gear segment 48, shaft 38, and coil cradle Auntil the boss 45 engages the stop 44 and the cradle arm 39 is verticalwhile the arm 40 is horizontal and the coil 2 has been up-ended into thevertical axis position as shown in Figure 3.

In order to supply fluid under pressure to the carriage moving cylinder20, the elevator cylinder 2|, and the up-ending cylinder 5|, wepreferably mount a motor 54 on a platform 55 carried by beams 55 whichare secured to the sides of and supported by the carriage C. Alsomounted on platform 55 is a pump 51 and the fluid tank 58 is supportedby the beams 56. A supply of fluid, such as oil or the like, is carriedin the tank 7 58 and when driven by the motor 54 the pump 51 suppliesfluid from the tank 58 under pressure to the operating cylinders 20, 2|,and 5| through suitable piping (not shown).

To control the operation of our apparatus valves are arranged in thepiping system leading from the pump 51 and in the return pipes from thecylinders 20, 2|, and 5| to the tank 58 whereby the functions andoperation of the fluid pressure mechanisms may be controlled. Thedetails of the control valves and the piping are not illustrated in thedrawings as they may be of any suitable arrangement and the valves maybe located at any point convenient for the operator of the apparatus.

Having described our up-ending coil carriage as installed for use inconnection with a tension reel, its mode of operation will now beexplained:

In Figure 1 it may be assumed that the coil 2 has been completely woundon the reel I. While the coil is being formed carriage C is held in itsdischarge or unloading position away from the reel I (as seen in Figure3). Upon finishing the coil the operator moves the control valve whichsupplies fluid under'pressure to the cylinder 20 to move the carriage Cto the left into the position shown in Figure 1. However, before hemoves the carriage to the left as Just described, the cradle arms 39 and40 must be moved into coil receiving position with the arm 39 horizontaland the elevator E must be lowered, preferably to its lowest position orat least to a position where the rollers 4| and 42 on the arm 39 willclear the under side of the coil 2. Suitable interlocks (not shown) areprovided in the valve hookup whereby the operator cannot move thecarriage C into coil receiving position (as shown in Figure 1) unlessthe elevator E is lowered and the cradle A is incoil receiving position.

After the carriage C has been moved to the left end of its travel(Figure 1) the valve controlling the elevator cylinder 2| may beoperated to lift the elevator and the cradle A until the rollers 4| onthe arms 39 engage the coil and lift it sufficiently to take the loadoff of the collapsed reel I. The stripper 5 may then be operated to pushthe coil horizontally on the rollers 4| and 42 until its end faceengages the arm 40. The carriage C is then moved on the tracks 9 and I0away from the reel I into the position shown in Figure 3, the elevator Eis lowered to its bottom position, and the up-ending cradle A is rotatedby means of the rack 41 and gear segment 45 through 90 to dischargingposition as shown in Figure 3 with the coil axis vertical. The coil maythen be removed by a forked truck or other suitable means andtransferred to storage or the next operation. The apparatus is thenready for the next cycle and when another coil is wound on the reel lthe operation just described will be repeated.

It will be understood that wher the apparatus is used to load coils onto a pay-of! reel the operations will be substantially the reverse ofthose just described and it will be seen that our improved up-endingcoil carriage mechanism provides a simple and compact means for handlingheavy coils of material in the manner explained.

Although we have described a preferred embodiment of our invention inconsiderable detail it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat variations and modifications may be made in the form andarrangement of the parts and elements which make up our improvedapparatus and we, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the particularstructures herein illustrated and described but claim as our inventionall embodiments thereof coming within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An up-ending coil carriage apparatus adapted for use with a reel forhandling coils of strip material including a carriage, means forsupporting said carriage for movement in a direction parallel to thereel axis, means for moving said carriage on said support toward or awayfrom said reel, an elevator mechanism mounted on said carriage, meansfor moving said elevator vertically relative to said carriage, cradlemeans mounted on said elevator for supporting a coil of strip materialin either vertical axis or horizontal axis position, means forsupporting said cradle for. movement about an axis normal to said reelaxis and restraining said cradle against movement about an axis parallelto said coil axis, fluid pressure actuated means mounted on and movablewith said elevator mechanism for actuating said cradle to shift a coilcarried thereby from one to the other of said axis positions, and pumpmeans mounted on and movable with said carriage for supplying fluidunder pressure to said fluid pressure actuated means.

2. In apparatus for handling coils of strip material, the combination ofa reel on which a coil may be supported, a trackway below and extendingaway from and parallel to the axis of said reel, a carriage supportedfor movement on said trackway toward or away from said reel, fluidpressure actuated means for moving said carriage on said trackway, anelevator mounted on said carriage and movable therewith, elevatoroperating fluid pressure actuated means mounted on said carriage andmovable therewith, a coil carrying cradle having arms extendingsubstantially at 90 to each other, said cradle being pivotally mountedon said elevator for rotation through approximately 90 about an axisextending substantially normal to the axis of said reel, cradleoperating fluid pressure actuated means mounted on said elevator andmovable therewith, and means carried by and movable with said carriagefor supplying fluid under pressure to said fluid pressure actuatedmeans.

3. In apparatus for handling coils of strip material, the combination ofa reel on which a coil may be supported, a trackway below and extendingaway from and parallel to the axis of said reel, a carriage supportedfor movement on said trackway toward or away from said reel, fluidpressure actuated means for moving said carriage on said trackway, anelevator mounted on said carriage and movable therewith, elevatoroperating fluid pressure actuated means mounted on said carriage andmovable therewith, a coil carrying cradle having arms extending substantially at 90 to each other, said cradle being pivotally mounted on saidelevator for rotation through approximately 90 about an axis extendingsubstantially normal to the axis of said reel,

,cradle operating fluid pressure actuated means mounted on said elevatorand movable therewith, means carried by and movable with said carriagefor supplying fluid under pressure to said fluid pressure actuatedmeans, and valve means for controlling the flow of fluid under pressurefrom said fluid pressure supply means to each of said fluid pressureactuated means.

4. In coil handling apparatus of the type described, a movable carriage,an elevator mounted on said carriage and movable vertically relativethereto, said elevator having spaced bearing brackets, a shaft mounted'for rotati0n in said brackets and having its axis extendingvsubstantially normal to the direction of movement of said carriage, acoil cradle secured to said shaft between said brackets, a gear segmentsecured to said shaft, a rack slidingly supported on said elevator andengaging said gear segment, elevator operating fluid pressure actuatedmeans mounted on said carriage and movable therewith, and fluid pressureactuated means carried by and movable with said elevator and connectedto said rack to impart reciprocating movement thereto whereby said gearsegment, shaft, and coil cradle may be rotated through approximately 90independently of movement 01' said carriage.

5. In coil handling apparatus of the type described, a carriagesupported for horizontal movement toward or away from a coil reel andparallel to the axis of said reel, an elevator mounted on said carriageand movable vertically relative thereto, a coil cradle pivotallysupported on said elevator for tilting movement about an axissubstantially normal to the direction travel of said carriage, fluidpressure actuated means for moving said carriage, fluid pressureactuated means for operating said elevator, fluid pressure actuatedmeans for rotating said coil cradle on its pivotal support, and meansmounted on and movable with said carriage for supplying fluid underpressure to each of said fluid pressure actuated means.

6. In apparatus for handling coils of strip material, the combination ofa reel on which a coil may be supported, a trackway below and extendingaway from'and parallel to the, axis of said reel, a carriage supportedfor movement on said trackway toward or away fromv said reel, fluidpressure actuated means for moving said carriage on said trackway, anelevator mounted on said carriage and movable therewith, elevatoroperating fluid pressure actuated means mounted on said carriage andmovable therewith, a coil carrying cradle having arms extending substantially at 90 to each other, one of said arms having spaced rows ofrollers rotatably mounted on its inner face with the axes of the rollersof one row inclined to the axes of the rollers oi the other row to forma V-shaped coil receiving trough, said cradle being pivotally mounted onsaid elevator for rotation through approximately 90 about an axisextending substantially normal to the axis of said reel, cradleoperating fluid pressure actuated means mounted on said elevator andmovabletherewith, means carried by and movable with said carriage forsupplying fluid under pressure to said fluid pressure actuated means,and valve means for controlling the flow of fluid under pressure fromsaid fluid pressure actuated means for moving said carriage on saidtrackway, an elevator mounted on said carriage and movable therewith,elevator operating fluid pressure actuated means mounted on saidcan-iage and movable therewith, a coil carrying cradle having armsextending substantially at 90 to each other, one of said arms havingspaced rows of rollers of one row inclined to the axesof the rollers oithe other row to form a V-shaped coil receiving trough, the other ofsaid arms having spaced parallel slots formed in its inner surface, saidslots being locatedon the upper side of said other of said arms when itis in-horizontal position and extending parallel to the pivotal axis ofsaid cradle, said cradle being pivotally mounted on said elevator forrotation through approximately 90 about an axis extending substantiallynormal to the axis of said reel, cradle operating fluid pressureactuated means mounted on said elevator and movable therewith, meanscarried by and movable with said carriage for supplying fluid underpressure to said fluid pressure actuated means, and valve means forcontrolling the flow oi fluid under pressure from said fluid pressuresupply means to each of said fluid pressure actuated means.

ELWIN A. MA'I 'I'ESON. WILLIAM P. DONALD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle ofthis patent:

. UNITED STATES PATENTS Number McBride Oct. 24, 1944

